the goan I network
PANAJI
The accounts department has taken serious cognizance of a complaint by a peon in the sports department, who has alleged a multi-crore financial scam in the department.
Acting on the complaint by the peon, a senior official said all bills of the sports department will be withheld for scrutiny, adding that a thorough investigation will be conducted in the matter.
The peon in the sports department has alleged that two senior clerks serving in the sports department for several years are involved in a multi-crore scam in the department. Copies of the complaint have been sent to the Chief Minister’s Office and Directorate of Accounts.
The peon has alleged that the scam has been going on for years with the collusion of some staff in the accounts department, leading to irregularities in the accounts department.
So confident is the peon about the allegations, that he has recommended to authorities to sack him if there is no merit in his complaint.
“The allegations in the complaint are serious. If there is truth in the claims made by the complainant, it will be a huge scam. There is need for a thorough investigation,” a senior officer in the finance department told The Goan.
“We have asked the director of accounts to conduct a thorough investigation. Those handling sports department bills in the accounts department will be interrogated. Also the complaint will be verified by checking all bills sent from the sports department,” the officer added.
The peon has alleged that crores of rupees were being misappropriated by submitting fake bills to the accounts department to sanction advance payments for the purchase of sports materials.
He claimed that sports kits were given to a select few and sports materials were siphoned off and distributed to relatives of staff.
Stating that financial provisions in the budget were being utilised at the fag end of the financial year, the complainant claimed that repeated complaints to the director of sports had been ignored.
The complainant alleged that all financial transactions of the sports department were being handled by a female staffer, who is involved in the scam, adding that her husband serves in another section of the same department. The couple has been serving in the same office for the last 20 years, the complainant added.
The peon has also alleged a massive scam during the National School
Sports events at Peddem-Mapusa in 2016, adding that scam would be exposed during scrutiny of bills for the sporting events.
